Knickles the Echidna
by Golden-Sama
Summary: One day Knickles the white echidna asked his mother, Rouge, about how she and his father got together. This is the story Rouge told her son. [KnucklesRouge]


**Knickles the Echidna**

**By**

**Sama**

**A/N**: Fanfiction is set in a universe that is a combination of Sonic X, Segasonic, Archie and all other Sonic Universes. This fanfic part of a contest entry for a contest on the Rapid Board. If you're a Sonic fan, please join the Rapid Board today! And tell 'em GS sent ya!

s12. invisionfree .com /sonicthehedgehog /index .php?actidx

(remove them spaces!)

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Knickles the white echidna sighed, and looked to his mother. She looked surprised by the question he had just asked her.

"Sit down kid." Rouge told her son. "I guess it's time I tell you about your old man."

----

Knuckles had been visiting his old pal, Sonic the Hedgehog, in Station Square. It was supposed to be a nice, friendly visit, free from evil psychopaths doing evil psychopathic things. A visit without deadly robots, or fat bald mustached maniacs – but that was not to be the case.

Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit and Cosmo the Plant from Outer Space had been meeting with their old pal, Big the Cat, for lunch. It was a friendly get together, and all of them were relaxing at an outdoor restaurant, stuffing themselves on free breadsticks and salad that came with the meal. That's when the gigantic television screen on the building across the street suddenly changed from the local news, to a picture of a man called Eggman.

"Oh great." Sonic sighed as he set down his breadstick upon seeing Eggman's face on the TV screen. "I just lost my appetite."

"Attention ladies and gentlemen! I am Dr. Eggman, greatest scientific mind of this or any generation!" The arrogant Eggman bragged.

"What is he up to now?" Knuckles wondered aloud, annoyed that his one day off from guarding the Master Emerald would be ruined by Eggman's annoying schemes, again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a surprise for all of you! I'm getting back in touch with nature!" Eggman announced. "Observe!"

High in the sky, Eggman was hiding on a Space Station he had recently finished construction of. Though not as big or as bad as ARK, this Space Station, which was called "The Galactic Egg", suddenly began to glow with a bright green light. The Egg-shaped Space Station opened up to reveal a gigantic cannon, which Eggman aimed right at Station Square. Sonic and his friends saw the blast of green light head right towards them, and all of them ran to hide. Amy and Cream jumped behind a car, Big screamed and hid behind a tree that was much too thin to protect him, Tails and Cosmo ran into the nearby alley, Sonic hid behind a mailbox, and Knuckles grabbed the umbrella off of their booth and used it like a shield.

However, a minute later, they all realized that despite the beam's impact, none of them were hurt.

"That was odd." Big noted.

"Stupid Eggman! Playing a joke on us? I'm gonna pound him one!" Sonic grumbled.

"Sonic . . . this was no joke! Look!" Tails pointed.

The Mobians all looked around the city, and gasped. Every non-mobian had been transformed into wood, with flowers and leafs coming out of them. The humans had all become part of nature, and then Eggman's voice filled the city again.

"Mwa hahahahah! Recently I uncovered an ancient device hidden in an echidna temple that transforms flesh into wood, blood into sap, and bodies into plants! I'm going to turn the whole world into a big forest – and then cut it down so I can build: EGGMANLAND! Mwahahahaah! Oh Sonic, I know it doesn't effect your kind, and I know you can hear me, but not to worry – the modified version WILL effect Mobians, and I should be done making it anytime! So soon, you two will be grass! Mwahahahahahaha! Farewell Sonic, this time I will win!"

As Sonic and his friends stood watching the video that came live via The Galactic Egg, suddenly a figure appeared behind Eggman. The shadowy figure of a hedgehog; but since Sonic was with them, and Amy too, they all knew it could be only one person.

"Is that . . .?" Knuckles asked.

A moment later, he got his answer.

"Doctor Eggman! This is unacceptable!"

Eggman blinked and turned around. "Huh? Shadow? What, how did you get in here?"

"Your security systems are no match for me, doctor." Shadow the Hedgehog growled. "Turn off this machine at once!"

"Wha? SHADOW! YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON MY SIDE!" Eggman roared loudly.

"You fool, if I let you destroy the planet and turn everyone into trees, what will be left for me?" Shadow asked, angry. "How am I ever to learn the answers I seek if everyone who could tell me is a tree?"

"Oh will you get off this stupid memory kick! Memories are useless!" Eggman snapped at the Hedgehog.

"To you, perhaps." Shadow said softly. "But to me, they are important, and I will have them back. Chaos Blast!"

The screen flashed red, and then Sonic and his friends saw no more. Shadow had apparently wrecked the camera when he blasted Eggman; but they had no way of knowing if Shadow would be victorious, and what's worse, Shadow wasn't exactly their number one friend; who knows what could happen if he took over Eggman's machines?

"Well guys, can't let Shadow have all the fun!" Sonic smirked. "Race ya to the spaceship!"

"Hold on Sonic!" Knuckles grabbed the Hedgehog by his hand, stopping Sonic from dashing off like he wanted too. "We need a way to reverse this curse!"

Sonic looked at all the people, who had become plants. "True, you have an idea?" Sonic asked.

"He said it was an echidna curse." Knuckles nodded. "Maybe there are some answers on Angel Island. You guys go stop Eggman, I'll head home and look for a solution!"

"Gotcha red! When you find the antidote, come meet us on the space colony!" And this time Sonic did dash off before Knuckles could stop him. Tails, Cosmo and Amy quickly followed him, while Big and Cream were a bit slower, but still followed along. Knuckles didn't have time to ask how he was supposed to get to the space station if they took the only rocket ship they had, but right now he had more important issues to deal with – like finding a cure for Eggman's mischief.

So Knuckles high-tailed it to Angel Island, making quick timing and eventually arriving at the Island. Once he got there, it was easy to tell that Eggman had been here while he was off in Station Square. He saw an old temple, one that had been sealed in stone with no doors ever built, now had a hole in the side where Eggman blasted his way in.

"You'd think that idiot would realize a temple without doors wasn't meant to be opened. Genius IQ, yeah right, and I'm green." Knuckles commented to himself, as he ran to the hole in the wall and got inside the temple.

Once inside, Knuckles found a wide room, where he saw two great elevated stone mounds. On one there was an empty case on top, on the other was a case that had not yet been opened. Beneath the empty case was the ancient echidna word for "virus" and beneath the closed case the word for "antidote".

"Odd that Eggman only stole the one." Knuckles commented, thinking only he would hear it, but a flash later he got a reply. A smooth female voice replied to him.

"Well you outta know by now that Eggman isn't the smartest evil genius around."

Knuckles whirled around and saw a White Bat flying around the room. Her name was Rouge, and he knew her well. She was his archrival when it came to treasure hunting, and she often tried to steal the Master Emerald Knuckles was supposed to protect for all time.

"Rouge, I see you're helping Eggman, as usual." Knuckles sighed.

"And I see you're still helping Sonic. What a waste, you have skills Knucklehead, but you don't use 'em for treasure hunting." Rouge said as she landed near the closed case.

"You use your skills to STEAL treasure!" Knuckles accused.

"Oh? So you think I have skills too? You Romeo you." Rouge's flirtation, as always, irked Knuckles.

Then, without warning, a roar echoed through the cave. The bat and the echidna both looked to see something moving in the shadows. That something was very large and very angry, by the look of it. Suddenly the beast moved into the light, and they saw a purple echidna, who looked ready for a fight. He was at least seven feet tall, and his body was massive and loaded with muscles.

"Attention would-be thieves!" Announced the purple echidna in a giant, glorious voice. "I am the guardian of this temple, Strongarm the Echidna! You intruders shall be punished in the most beautiful of ways!"

Knuckles and Rouge looked at one another and blinked, and then they both looked at Strongarm the Echidna. Knuckles pushed Rouge aside and stepped up to the platform where Strongarm stood.

"I am Knuckles, son of Locke, Guardian of the Master Emerald." He said. "You're Strongarm, Guardian of the Temple, correct? We have no need to fight. You and I belong to the same clan."

Knuckles indicated the white stripe on Strongarm's chest, and he bowed to him. Strongarm rubbed his chin, and flicked the one little quill that came out of the top of his head as he thought.

"Indeed Knuckles! We are brothers, or as just as good as! So I shall not harm you." Strongarm decided.

"Great, then we'll be going now." Knuckles turned to leave, as he did he bumped into Rouge, and she dropped a bag she was holding. The bag turned out to be full of gold and jewels – which had previously been lying next to the antidote box.

"You stole that?" Knuckles asked.

"You sound surprised." Rouge snickered.

"Wait thieves! You, bat woman, must pay for this!" Strongarm bellowed.

"Try it big red." Rouge snapped rudely.

"Rouge, let me handle this." Knuckles insisted, and then he turned back to Strongarm. "Look, Strongarm, she's a . . . friend. No need to punish her."

"But there is! She has seen too much! She had set foot on Holy Ground, and is not a Guardian! She must die! I shall smash her skull into fragments with my beautiful fighting skills!" Strongarm struck a pose.

"Whoa, settle down!" Knuckles tried to stop him, but Strongarm glared at Knuckles.

"She is a thief, and will come back to steal from me. You are allowed here, but she is not! So she must die!" Strongarm insisted.

"You ain't killin' nobody." Knuckles told him flat out.

"You would seek to protect a thief?" Strongarm growled.

"In this case, I would." Knuckles said which surprised Rouge, who was watching the whole thing with some interest.

"Then, taking that into consideration I have changed my mind." Strongarm announced. Knuckles sighed happily, while Rouge, however, looked skeptic. "I shall KILL YOU BOTH!" Strongarm announced.

"Huh?" Knuckles blinked.

"He who would aid a thief is a thief himself." Strongarm announced.

"I won't fight a fellow Guardian." Knuckles crossed his arms across his chest.

Strongarm ran at him and punched him clear in the nose, and since Strongarm was three times bigger than Knuckles, he sent him flying across the room and into a stone wall.

"Way to go Knucklehead." Rouge shook her head, then a second later she gasped as Strongarm grabbed her and picked her up.

"Release the treasures you have stolen vile bat woman!" Strongarm began shaking Rouge upside down, trying to shake any stolen goods off her body. Rouge growled and slapped Strongarm in the face. He released her legs and she flew in the air for a moment in front of him, steaming mad.

"Didn't your folks ever teach you how to treat a lady?" Rouge asked, very angry.

"Indeed, but you are no lady; you are a thief!" Strongarm then punched her as hard as he could, which was quite hard, and Rouge slammed against a pillar in the middle of the temple and landed right on her wing. She cried out in pain as her right wing bent at an awkward angle, and she wound up on the ground, with Strongarm advancing.

For a moment Rouge thought this was the end. She'd be beaten to death by Strongarm the Echidna, and that would be that. Then, to her surprise, Knuckles jumped on Strongarm's back and began beating him in the head with his fists.

"Argh! Stop that!" Strongarm yelled out.

"Rouge, get the hell outta here! I'll handle this moron!" Knuckles yelled to the bat girl, but Strongarm pushed backwards and tried to squash Knuckles against a pillar. Knuckles jumped off Strongarm's back, and instead Strongarm hit that pillar. A moment later the pillar fell over on Strongarm, knocking him unconscious; and a moment after that the entire temple began to shake.

"Way to go Knucklehead, you broke it!" Rouge accused.

"Shuddap and let's get out of here!" Knuckles told her, but when Rouge tried to stand up, the pain in her back from her wing made her fall back to her knees. A piece of the roof threatened to fall on Rouge, so Knuckles bravely stood next to her and punched the collapsing roof into pieces before it could crush them. Then, once the mini earthquake that had started stopped, Knuckles sat down next to Rouge and sighed.

"The entrance is caved in." Knuckles said at length.

"Yep. Looks like we're trapped." Rouge smirked. Then she bit her lip and asked him something. "Hey Knucklehead, what was that all about anyway?"

"You were there." Knuckles replied.

"Pfft. I can't figure out you echidnas. I'm serious, why'd you do all that?"

"All what?"

"You fought that guy. Why? He would've let you leave." Rouge reminded him.

"Yeah, and he would've broken your skull." Knuckles said.

"I could've taken him." Rouge insisted.

"Oh really?" Knuckles was skeptic.

"I could have! What? You believed that whole wing injury routine? Just a rouse to get his guard dow—OWWCH!"

Knuckles had merely touched her wing, and she screamed in pain; then she slapped him so hard he fell over onto the ground.

"Yeah, you're a good actor Rouge." Knuckles sarcastically commented.

"Oh shut up." Rouge sighed.

"That any way to thank the guy who just saved your life?" Knuckles asked.

"What? You want a thank you kiss or something?" Rouge teased him, puckering up her lips as if she was going to kiss him. What neither of them expected was what happened next. Knuckles kissed her. Something came over him, and he kissed her; which caused Rouge to freak out. Her first instinct was to sap him again; but she did not. Instead, she merely deepened the kiss. . .

----

"Mom, Mom, MOM!" Knickles screamed, interrupting the story. "I just wanted to know how you and dad got together, I don't want to hear details about . . . THAT!"

"Oh hush." Rouge slapped her son on the back of the head. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, so anyway, turns out Tails was about to turn everyone back without the antidote by harnessing Cosmo's plant power into a Chaos Emerald and having Shadow use his powers on the entire planet; and Sonic managed to defeat Eggman. Knucklehead and I eventually got out of the temple, but thinks were strange between us after that. For a few months everything was peaceful, and I . . . well, I couldn't talk to him, so I stayed my distance. That is, until . . ."

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Ch. 2 coming soon. Review and I'll give you a cookie. Peace.


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